A Possible Legacy
by Trevor the Enchanter
Summary: Team Possible struggles to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of Kim's kidnapping. As she sinks deeper into depression and hatred, assaulted from inside and out, she soon discovers that even if Shadow is gone, his legacy endures. Sequel to Enemy of my Enemy
1. Chapter 1

This took slightly longer than I thought it would, but I needed to figure out just where I was going with this. I would suggest reading "Enemy of my Enemy" or this story is going to be rather difficult to understand, being that it's the sequel. It shouldn't be nearly as long, however.

Enough talk; I hope you enjoy the beginning of my angst-ridden tale.

XXXXXXXXXX

_ "He's certain to be arriving soon." Kim laughed. There was no way that he wouldn't; she knew her father far too well for that. _

_ Sure enough, here he came, dragged in chains in front of her. "Kimmie-cub, please don't do this!" He asked her, knowing it was futile to struggle against his bonds. "He's turned you against everyone who cares about you!"_

_ "He's the only one who cares about me!" Kim snarled. "All of you lied to me! Especially you; I never should have trusted you!" She lifted him up with a single hand. "Now, Father... you will die."_

Kim awoke in horror, sweat covering her bed. She'd been having those kind of dreams almost every night. It was the second time tonight that she had woken up in a cold night. Even taking sleeping pills didn't seem to be sufficient. "Damn, what am I going to do about this?" She complained. "I can't keep this up forever." She turned on her light, even though she knew by heart precisely where everything in her room was.

To her right was a desk, which carried a photo of her and her best friend, Ron Stoppable, with their arms wrapped around one another. Today, it seemed almost unnatural to see that kind of smile on her face. Not so long ago, nothing dragged her down for long. She was a naturally perky and optimistic person, and nothing got in her way. She was a straight A-student, cheerleader, one of the most popular people around, even took down supervillains in her spare time.

That all changed a month ago, and ever since, her life was in shambles.

It seemed like a typical date with Ron, until they got a call that her most frequently encountered enemies Drakken and Shego were on the move to steal some new technology that could be harnassed as a weapon. At the time, Kim figured it would go as it always did, with Drakken being defeated, promising to win the next time they encountered each other, with time left over to go out on their date.

Then he came.

The man who called himself Shadow. He came close to killing Drakken, and she decided to make a temporary truce with her enemy to face the more dangerous threat. However, he was more than a match for all three of them, and kidnapped Kim, taking her to his lair. _and that was only the beginning, _Kim mused. She soon discovered that her father had been keeping things from her, chief among them the fact that he had modified her DNA before she was born, allowing her to do superhuman feats.

But that wasn't the biggest shock. He intended to make her his apprentice, and after close to two weeks, when her mind was wavering, he revealed his greatest secret. It was something she had never known, never even guessed, but at the same time, the truth could not be denied. It was the reason for everything: why he chose her, why he wanted revenge against her dad, why he had fallen to the dark; everything.

Her kidnapper was in fact Damien Possible, her own half-brother.

Even though she was ultimately rescued, Kim had never been the same after that. She was haunted by nightmares, plagued with anger and rage, traits that her brother was attempting to ignite inside her. Being that she spent most of her time in a foul mood, it appeared as if he had succeeded. _And a part of me still wants to see him again. _Kim sighed. As much as she hated her brother for the mind games he had played with her, she loved him just as much.

Realizing that she likely was not going to get anymore sleep, she went down the stairs to the living room in order to get something to eat. Being careful not to wake any member of her family was simple; being on missions constantly had acquainted her with the art of stealth, so there wasn't so much as a murmur throughout the house.

Evidently, Kim was hungrier than she previously suspected, for she gulped down her meal so quickly that she felt a flash of heartburn. "Okay, now I'm feeling a bit better." Kim admitted. Her depression refused to go away even so. She had a few sessions with a therapist, at her mom's insistence, but she wasn't making any progress there. As far as she was concerned, she merely wanted to forget her kidnapping ever happened, much less what she came close to doing as a result.

She was eighteen years old and a high school graduate, certainly far too old to come crying to her parents whenever she was upset. Kim had a difficult time being civil with them anyway, especially her dad, James Possible. Even if he did modify her to save her life, rather than for gain, as Shadow asserted, the fact that he had never told her still rankled. It was difficult to trust him now. Part of her wanted to rush right back to him, tell him that he was forgiven, so they would be what they were before. Every time she tried, though, she simply couldn't say the words, for they would be a lie.

_But Ron... he didn't deserve what I did to him. _A couple of days after her ordeal was over, she ended up breaking up with him. Kim had hardly talked to him since, even though she saw literally dozens of missed calls and hundreds of text messages pleading with her not to throw him aside. "He doesn't understand; he can't." Kim muttered sadly.

She knew that as painful as it was for both of them, it was necessary. Kim had a growing darkness within her, and flew to anger very easily. Not quite as easily as before, but with whatever her new power was, negative emotion seemed to come with it. When she used it, she was able to completely overpower Shego and was on the verge on killing her during the final battle when she was stopped. A couple times in her nightmares, Ron was in her place, begging for mercy.

Ron meant everything to her. Kim refused to do that, and knew that she tried hanging around him, acting as they did before, something would trigger her anger and he'd be the unfortunate target. Not that he was a helpless victim; far from it. Now that he was gaining control of his Mystical Monkey Powers, she wasn't even sure she could beat him. But he would never attack her, even to defend himself, and in her current state, she could end up causing permanent damage, perhaps even killing him.

Ron hated her, Kim was sure of it. How could he not after what she had done? Everything within her screamed to talk to him, beg for forgiveness, but her fear of putting him in danger superseded even that. However painful it might be, she could live with him hating her if it meant that he was safe.

"Not that he was ever that safe during our adventures," Kim was forced to admit, at least to herself. He constantly came back with cuts and bruises, and she was sometimes amazed that he never suffered more serious injuries. He didn't even like it, didn't live for it the way she had, but he went along in spite of that in order to support her. In return for that, she threw him aside like he meant nothing to her.

_It's what has to happen. _Kim thought. _When I can get control of myself, I'll come back to him... if he'll let me. _She closed her eyes, but it was a long time before she fell back to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Director looked over the reports on the artifacts that were located in Shadow's lair. "Interesting; actual monkey idols." Director muttered, still unable to understand why it was significant, but she was experienced enough to observe when something was more important than it first appeared. According to the examiners, they were hazardous to the touch. One of their more careless examiners had her hand burned almost to the bone.

It was obvious that the idols had some kind of mysterious power. Had it been anyone else but the people she trusted the most to give an honest report, Director would have dismissed it as hyperbole. It was the kind of thing that people saw in movie plots, not something that was actually real.

However, the one thing that they did not know was just what their function was. Currently, everyone was forbidden to go within twenty feet of it, just to err of the side of caution, and while the instruments on it detected something inside, none of them had been able to find out what.

_And if we start tampering with them, who knows what would happen? _Director thought. Ambrose doubtless had all kinds of dirty tricks to keep from being detected. Upon examining his lair after the battle was over, there were countless traps for the unwary. No agents had been killed, but the agents in charge of the operation observed that they were designed to be non-lethal. _Just another piece in this more and more hazardous puzzle. _

Even though the mystery was difficult, Director would much rather work on it than dwell on the deaths of just about every agent she sent to rescue Kim Possible. Twenty dead, and the few that survived were still in serious condition. She knew Shadow was powerful and prepared accordingly for the mission to rescue Miss Possible, but she would never in her life have imagined that a single soul could do what she had seen that night. Sometimes, she saw it in her dreams, a deadly storm heading right for her.

And when she thought it was finally over, that she could finally put an end to him, Kim had intervened, fought her to defend her kidnapper. Director admitted to herself that it was something she should have taken into consideration. Stockholm Syndrome could show up within a couple of days, and Miss Possible was in isolation for over two weeks, more than enough time for him to bring her to his side.

What was more astonishing was that she actually managed to win. Even before, not many could beat Kim in hand to hand, but Director was one of that small circle. Being so completely overwhelmed, even when wearing a battle suit, was a major surprise.

"I wish I didn't have to expel her; she would have been an excellent agent." Director sighed, slightly depressed. If anything, she was grooming her to take her place once she retired. No other agent she knew had the kind of potential she had, but after what she saw, many of her agents saw Miss Possible as too much of a liability, and she was forced to reluctantly concur.

_I hope she can get the help she needs. _Director thought with concern. The poor girl was a wreck, as anyone would be after an ordeal like that. _And I dearly wish that Du was still alive. _Her number one agent, Will Du, had perished in the confrontation, the last of Ambrose's victims. While capable, he wasn't skilled at field work, and Director discouraged him from coming along, but he insisted. While his dislike of Kim was well known among Global Justice, he would still lay down his life to protect her. And he had.

At times, she still half expected him to walk through the door, giving her his latest intelligence report. A couple days after all the funerals, she had mistaken one of their new agents for Du and greeted him by that name, completely embarrassing herself. Nobody had said anything, but she could feel their eyes on her.

Pushing herself to her feet, she decided to check out the facility that they had put the idols inside. At the very least, it would give something to distract her. Director knew the way; she knew the facility backwords and forwards. She could walk through it blindfolded should it ever prove necessary. There security was rarely breached, but it was still best not to take chances.

However, her route took her through the cells where individuals considered too dangerous for a normal prison were held. All of them looked upon her with hate, and Director knew that if they were given half a chance, each and every last person in here would kill her without a second thought. On the far right lay Monkey Fist. He was bound to the floor, because if he saw anyone approaching, he would attack on sight, no matter who it was. Monkey Fist had spent a few days in Ambrose's captivity and he had been tortured into insanity.

` But Director walked alone even though it was against her own regulations, with only a slight amount of fear. One reality of her job was that anything could happen, no matter how good you were.

"Ah, Director, we weren't expecting to see you here." One of the agents greeted her nervously.

"I gathered as much; what's your progress with the idols?" Director wondered sternly. She hoped that they had at least a clue, but so far, they didn't

"In all honesty, we don't know." The agent informed, pointing to the four idols that were held side by side in the middle of the room behind ten inches of bulletproof glass, backed up by another three inches of titanium. "Half the people here are too scared to even go inside."

"Then I'll do it myself," Director snapped. All the losses she had taken recently had soured her mood. All but pushing past the guards, she opened the door. Even though she had seen them before, the sight of them never failed to awe her. Part of her wanted to move close and examine them more intently, even though she knew it was a foolhardy thing to do.

_Perhaps he put some of his power into them, maybe even a part of his essence. _Director mused. While brutal, Ambrose was far from stupid, and for all she knew, he had the power to do just that. It was unlikely, but they could dismiss no possibility. Whatever they did, it was a mystery they had to crack.

What she didn't realize was that there was someone watching them.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Nope, no response." Ron moaned, sitting down in the family chair in the living room. He had been staring at his cell phone for over an hour, praying for some kind of response from Kim. He had not managed so much as a wink this night and it was eating him up. More than once, he had thought Kim had finally responded, only for him to discover that he was merely hearing things.

_Why is she doing this to me? _He sighed. Ron knew he had messed up not saving her sooner, but he never thought that Kim would hold a grudge for this long. It'd been a month and they still had not spoken two words to one another. They had fought before, but the anger phase rarely lasted more than a few hours, if that long. But a couple days after it was over, she broke up with him and refused to have anything more to do with him. While painful, Ron could have lived with losing a romantic relationship if they stayed friends. Now, though, that didn't look like it was going to happen.

His phone got a text and Ron dropped it under the chair in his haste to open his phone. Ron cursed in fury as he felt around for it. He raised his hand, using his powers to summon it. He had done little else but practice his abilities since he graduated. Ron didn't have the heart to do much else; it wasn't the same without Kim. "Work, damn it!" Ron cursed. A cell phone was about the limit to what he could lift now.

It seemed like forever to his mind, but in fact it was only a few seconds before the phone came flying back to him. "Please let it be KP..." Ron begged to himself. While he hoped it would be, he wasn't surprised when it wasn't. It was a simple message: "How u holding up? Princess talk to u yet?" The text was from Shego of all people.

_Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. _Ron admitted. When KP was kidnapped, he had Shego, who was normally their enemy, had made a temporary truce to rescue her and defeat their common enemy. As the partnership went on, however, they began to bond. They became friends... perhaps something more. Shego liked him, this he knew, and he couldn't help but feel at least an attraction to her as well. At the moment, though, he wasn't that interested in a relationship.

"What are you doing down here, Son?" his father interrupted him, walking down the stairs.

"Haven't been able to sleep." Ron was forced to admit. He was tired, he could barely move, but every time he closed his eyes, his mind refused to shut down. The possibility of a response from KP kept him too excited to go to sleep, even if he knew how unlikely it was. "I... I wish KP were here."

"She's going through a hard time, Ronald." His father explained. He decided not to mention what his wife's response was to his friend's aloofness. Best not to make things worse. "Kidnapping isn't something you get over like it never happened."

"I know, but I could help her." Ron protested. "She's always leaned on me when she was upset in the past; why not now? I know how badly I messed up, but... is there any way to convince her? What should I do?"

"All I can advise you to do is wait for her to come back to you." His father sighed. "It may time some time, but the two of you have been friends almost as long as you've been alive."

"Yeah, came as a shock to a lot of people." Ron chuckled. Back when they were young, having friends of the opposite gender was unusual, and most thought that it would die out in time. They were amazed as the two grew inseparable, even in grade school. "But what if she doesn't come back?"

"You have to have faith in her; you know her far better than I do." His father explained. "Tell me: if this was you, would she simply abandon you and give up?" He didn't want to add his private concerns that this may indeed be the end of their friendship. He had talked to Kim's parents once about that very subject, and he had gotten the inkling that all of them were in bad shape.

"I... I guess she wouldn't." Ron admitted. "It's just hard not having her around. I don't have much of a life outside her, as cliché as that might sound."

"What about that other woman?" His father pushed.

"You mean Shego?" Ron wondered. "Yeah, we've talked sometimes, but haven't met face to face. This is still pretty awkward. Remember, we're on opposite sides of the law, even if she was given a pardon by Global Justice."

"I don't want you to stay in this house moping around all the time." His father responded with a mixture of concern and sternness. "Go out, have some fun, enjoy life. Kim wouldn't want you to be like this, any more than I do."

"I... I suppose you're right." Ron sighed, mostly in an attempt to end this conversation. He had little motivation to do the things he once enjoyed. Even going to Bueno Nacho wasn't fun anymore, something that astonished both of his parents. "I'll see if I can meet up with her." Felix called sometimes, but he was building his own life halfway across the country. Ron had the unpleasant feeling that they were going to end up growing apart.

"If you want... I could get you something at Bueno Nacho; their drive-thru is open 24 hours a day now." His father offered, trying to think of something to bring his son out of his depression. He knew a dismissal when he heard one. If that didn't cheer him up at least a little...

"Sure, if you want; no need to trouble yourself if you don't want to." Ron shrugged, mostly indifferent. Rufus popped out of his pocket excitedly, licking his lips in anticipation , but Ron just couldn't bring himself to get excited about it.

"I'm just trying to cheer you up, son." His father replied, at a loss. "You won't talk to me, you won't talk to your mother, and I hear you screaming in your sleep almost every other night. It's not healthy to keep holding everything in."

"Since when do you give a damn?" Ron glared. "Just leave me alone, all right?"

"If that's what you want," His father walked back up the stairs, leaving Ron with nothing but Rufus and his depressing thoughts.

_Should I even bother trying to contact her anymore? _Ron wondered and Rufus gave him a gentle pat on the arm. "Tomorrow, I'll try visiting her personally again." Ron promised to himself, beginning to fall asleep in the easy chair. His last thoughts were. _Find out for sure... one way or the other._

XXXXXXXXXX

Admittedly, not my best start, but hopefully, this at least sets things up for future updates. Please let me know what you think.


	2. Taking Action

I know this is kind of a short entry, but I figured I'd delayed updating long enough and didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXX

_I shouldn't be feeling this kind of dread. _Ron mused as he pushed himself off his scooter and walked towards Kim's house. The garage was empty, meaning that both of her parents were away at work. This was something he had done thousands of times before, walk into her home. So why was he so nervous now?

"Because I'm scared that the answer will be no," Ron was forced to admit to himself. He didn't want to believe, refused to believe, that their friendship could very well have eroded. If that was the case, he at least was going to demand an explanation. How dare she walk away from him like he meant nothing and refuse to give him any kind of explanation whatsoever?!

He fished inside his wallet, looking for the key to the door. Kim had given him one freshman year as a sign of trust and Ron felt sort of like he was abusing it. _But damn it, I need to know! _Ron exclaimed to himself. He refused to stay in suspense any longer, but a definite answer terrified him just as much.

As luck would have it, the door was unlocked and Ron cautiously peered inside. "You home, KP?" Ron called out, but there was no response. Either she wasn't currently inside or she was ignoring him. Ron had a suspicion that it was the latter.

_Wow, this home has really changed. _Ron thought. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Mostly, Kim's home looked the same as it always had. What was different? _I'll figure it out later._

Deciding that the best place to try and find her was in her bedroom, Ron walked up the stairs and tested to see if her door was locked. This one was, but it didn't take him a lot of effort to pick the lock and open the door, his eyes averted in case she was changing clothes. Admittedly, with all the missions they had been on, changing clothes in the same room, they had gotten the occasional glance at one another, but even so, it was best to be polite.

Kim was in the middle of the bed, not moving, except for an occasional jolt. "She's asleep," Ron sighed. No matter; he'd wait until she woke up for an answer. He didn't care how long it took by this point in time.

On her nightstand, he noticed a bottle of sleeping pills on the top. Immediately, Ron's mind filled with horror. "She couldn't... she couldn't possibly be thinking..." He scrambled over, all thoughts of trying to stay quiet eliminated, diving for the bottle, hope and fear warring within him. The bottle rolled under the bed in his haste, Rufus diving out of his pocket to get it.

On the other side of the room, Ron saw that the computer was still on and to his trained eye, there appeared to be some kind of note. Tears began to fill his eyes as he thought about the implications. "Please be wrong, please be wrong..." Ron pleaded to himself.

_Dear Journal:_

_ The dreams never stop. Every time I close my eyes, I can see his face. He won't leave me alone. I suppose it's nothing more than I deserve, though. _

"How could she possibly think she actually deserves this kind of hell?" Ron muttered in astonishment. Did Ambrose leave so great an impression on her that she thought it was her fault she was kidnapped and manipulated? He decided to read on.

_I still think of it all the time, one of his "training exercises". I write it here, because I can't tell anyone of this. Not even my parents or Ron, especially Ron. What would he think of me if he knew the truth? If he knew what I had done?_

_ We were in a dangerous neighborhood, where Ambrose was explaining the elements of the criminal mind to me. As terrifying as it might sound, my brother had some valid points, even if the conclusions he came to were extreme. The two of us were attacked by a group of thugs, but it didn't last long. When it looked like one of them was getting up... I don't know how to describe it. I don't even want to think about it, but I have to go on. I killed him. I, Kimberly Ann Possible, am a murderer. _

"She... she actually killed someone..." Ron gasped out. He never would have imagined it before, but somehow, that wasn't as preposterous as he once thought that it would be. She was on the verge of killing Shego at Camp Wannaweep, and Ron knew that a killing machine was what Ambrose had intended to turn her into. _No wonder she's been falling apart. _

Kim began to stir as Rufus handed him the bottle of sleeping pills. To his extreme relief, the bottle was full. "No, please, I'm sorry!" Kim exclaimed in her sleep, while Ron debated on whether or not to wake her. He couldn't stand to see her like this.

_Hope this isn't too difficult, _Ron thought as he approached her. He sat down next to her an squeezed her hand, trying to communicate his support even though she was unconscious. His act received an immediate action. Ron just barely raised a block in time to counter her punch, but was unable to deflect the second and third and he collapsed to the ground, wheezing.

"I'll rip your limbs off!" Kim screamed before finally coming to her senses. Ron watched as her eyes blinked rapidly, while he coughed a couple of times, trying to pull himself together. He had endured far worse pain in the past, but the fact that those blows had come from KP, of all people, made it especially agonizing.

However, she was coming to, and looked around the room. "Not again," Kim groaned. Her knuckles were beginning to tingle. "Did I actually hit something?" She moved forward a couple of steps and her foot brushed against Ron's leg. "Ron!"

"Hey, KP." Ron coughed, pushing himself to his feet. "Fancy seeing you here."

"It's my room, Ron; of course I'm here." Kim rolled her eyes. Upon looking at him a second time, however, she made a startling realization. "Oh, god... did I actually..."

"I'm fine, KP; nothing to worry about." Ron attempted to reassure. It did no good, though, as Kim slid onto the floor in a heap, burying her face in her arms. "Come on, I'm ok; there's no need to feel guilty."

"You hate me!" Kim gasped out, still refusing to meet his eyes.

"Why would I hate you, KP?" Ron asked. "I was just worried about you. You haven't responded to any of my texts or calls or e-mails or... well, anything." His previous anger was disappearing after seeing his best friend in such a state.

"Just go away, please; leave me alone." Kim begged him, turning away from his gaze, but Ron refused to budge.

"KP, why are you trying to push me away?" Ron demanded, more sharply than he had intended. "Do you really think that little of me?!" He knew as soon as those words came out of his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say, but it was too late to take the words back. Kim got to her feet and all but ran out of her room, refusing to look him in the eye. Ron followed, hoping that he wasn't about to lose his best friend.

"You don't understand; you can't!" Kim screamed at him.

"You're right; I don't understand why you're throwing away what we have." Ron glared. "So how about you explain it to me, then?"

"You hate me, you really hate me." Kim murmured, making Ron slap his palm in frustration. This was not how he wanted their conversation to be going.

"No, no, Kim, I don't hate you." Ron hastened to reassure. "I just don't want to lose you. I've been worried sick about you. You haven't called, you haven't even so much as said hello when I walk past you. The only thing I want to know is why."

"I have to do this... can't let it happen." Kim whispered.

"Can't let what happen?" Ron wanted her to continue.

"What I keep seeing... the images in my nightmares." Kim began to talk, mostly to herself. Ron had a feeling that she had half-forgotten that he was even with her. "This voice inside me that keeps telling me to attack."

"Attack who?" Ron wondered.

"Everyone!" Kim screamed. "No matter where I go, I have people staring at me! I see kids run away from me when they realize who I am! They think I'll slaughter them all if they give me half a chance! I've been kidnapped, manipulated, and now I have to deal with these fuckers on top of it!" Kim rarely used such words, which made it obvious that her mental state was deteriorating.

"Remember what you always told me: that it was only my true friends who mattered, that I shouldn't care what others think of me." Ron reminded her. It was a speech she had given him countless times when he moaned about others not liking him. "The same applies to you. People are stupid, you know that. Just remember: you have me, you have your family, even the tweebs."

"The tweebs are too terrified to go near me after I threatened to feed them their entrails." Kim sneered, but it soon degenerated into a sad sigh. "I can't do this, Ron, I just can't. Do you have any idea what it's like having people who once admired you staring at you with hate?"

"Yes, I can understand quite well." Ron informed her. It had became just a daily part of his adolescence. "You feel that there's no escape, that you can't get away, and you just want it to end."

"Ron, please, just respect my wishes and leave me alone." Kim sighed, all the fight having gone out of her. "I can't do this; I can't risk hurting you."

"How are you going to hurt me?" Ron wondered, honestly confused.

"I already hit you!" Kim screamed at him. It was something she swore she would never do, no matter how angry she had gotten at him, but she had broken that promise in her sleep. "Maybe they're right; maybe I'm no different than my brother and... he was right, you know?"

"He lied to you; you can't listen to anything he says." Ron tried to get through to her, already sensing that this was a losing battle.

"No, I mean... about everyone who admired me." Kim whispered. "He said they'd turn against me, that I actually meant nothing to them but a face. Ambrose... Ambrose was right, right about nearly everything. Whatever this is, Ron, I can't let it hurt you. Please just give me some space."

"All right, if that's what you really want." Ron replied, his heart shattering. "Just remember: you don't have to go through all of this alone."

He turned around and headed out the house, starting to think that this friendship of theirs may not be repaired after all. It was obvious that Kim was falling apart, but she was pushing him away in a misguided effort to protect him. _Why would she think this is the best solution? _Ron wondered. It reeked of her personality, however, thinking of her friends, however twisted her mindset was. Part of him was angry with her, but Ron found it impossible to hold a grudge.

He walked out the door just as the family car with pulling in. James immediately greeted him, a hopeful look on his face. "Ah, hello, Ronald, good to see you." James greeted.

"Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth, especially when KP and I were dating." Ron admitted.

"I was concerned, as every father is about their little girl." James offered by way of explanation. "So my little girl finally let you back here, huh?"

"Actually... she just threw me out." Ron replied sadly. "For some reason, she thinks that this is supposed to protect me." She needed help, and he thought of someone who might be able to provide it. _I just hope they're willing to do it. _

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim watched Ron walk out from her bedroom window, her heart breaking a little more with each step he took. _I have to do this; I can't hurt him. _Kim thought. As much as it hurt, she'd endure every last bit of it if it meant protecting him.

On the other hand... she noticed that her hatred, even if it had not disappeared entirely, had at least lessened in his presence. Her horror at hurting him may have driven her to push him away, but at the same time, the implications began to calm her. She knew where the path of darkness led; Ambrose had made that perfectly clear and it wasn't one she wanted to follow.

It was way she spent as much of her time as she could alone, in her home. It didn't silence them, but every time she faced the fearful stares of the crowd, her hatred ignited. The fact that her brother was right about it hurt her more than she could truly put into words. Ron dealt with it all the time, and she had merely brushed it off, telling him to be himself. Now she was beginning to understand what being a pariah was really like.

"I've got to find a way to get control of... whatever this is." Kim admitted. She tried her usual calming routine, martial arts, but now it only seemed to heighten her anger. Kim saw enemies everywhere and after a dangerous incident, she knew that she would have to find another way. _Anything's possible for a Possible, _she told herself and she did everything she could to live up to those words, but Kim was at her wit's end.

One thing she had noticed, though: her anger was strongest when her father was around. Kim still couldn't yet forgive him, even though he had apologized over and over and only relented when she started screaming at him.

"Kim, sweetie, did Ron actually come over?" Her mom entered her room cautiously. She was slightly easier to talk to for Kim, not that it was saying much.

"Yeah, he wanted to talk." Kim sighed, looking away, hoping her mother would get the message and leave her alone. "I just can't see him right now."

"Kim, you've been using that excuse for over a month." Her mom told her sternly. "The poor boy's falling apart because you won't talk to him. When I saw him, it looked like he was about to cry. You should have seen his face."

"I can live with him hating me if it means he stays safe." Kim vowed.

"Do you know what kind of damage you're doing to yourself?" Her mom asked. They had this conversation many times before and by now, Kim could practically recite it by heart. "This isn't healthy for you, cutting everyone out of your life. We're all trying to help you get through this, sweetheart; all you need to do is let us help you."

"How am I supposed to do that when I'm ready to rip someone's limbs off?" Kim demanded. Jim and Tim were listening at the door, and beat a hasty retreat at Kim's vicious glare. "I'm angry all the time, and... part of me actually enjoys it. I feel stronger, more powerful when I'm like this." She braced herself for what she had to say. "I... I actually hit him when he woke me up. I hit Ron! I saw him gasping on the floor! What kind of friend does that make me?"

"Kim, you're being too hard on yourself." Her mom soothed. "You were having a nightmare; I know Ron doesn't hold a grudge. He's trying to help you, just like the rest of us, and if you don't stop this, you may lose one of the best things in your life!"

"What has he ever done for me, anyway?" Kim's rage flared again. "When I was kidnapped, Ron cheated on me with Shego! Maybe I could forgive him if it was someone else, but her? My enemy?! I... I'm sorry, but I can't just move past that and I'm afraid that if I spend time with him, this... urge of me will overwhelm me."

"Kim, I didn't want to have to do this, but I think it's time." Her mother grimaced. It was little more than denial that caused her to delay as long as she did.

"What do you have in mind?" Kim clenched her fists. "I swear to god, if you plan on locking me in a mental hospital..." A flash entered her mind, and she only barely restrained herself from attacking her. _What's wrong with me? _Kim gasped to her. _Was I really about to... _Much as she wanted to hide from it, she knew the truth. Maybe she really did need help.

"At first, I thought you were simply working through your trauma, but this isn't normal, Kim." Her mother informed her. "What I had in mind was an MRI scan. It's possible that Ambrose might have done something to you without your knowledge to make you like this."

"Are... are you sure?" Kim asked, skeptical. "Wouldn't I know if that was the case?"

"Not necessarily; we still don't know for sure just what all of his skills were." Ann responded. "I'm not going to force this on you, but I think it's a good idea. Will you do it?"

"If it means this stops, yes." Kim agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"God, it's boring in here!" Shego complained as she walked around Drakken's lair, one of the few that he still possessed after the Shadow fiasco. Most of the others had been destroyed and ransacked for equipment.

The problem was that she always needed to be doing something. Shego was an adrenaline and simply walking around an underground facility in the middle of the desert was not her idea of entertainment. She wanted to be outside, and even the constant sparring with the synthrodrones was not enough to keep her occupied.

_Normally, this is when I would be breaking into some top-secret lab for Drakken's idiotic take-over-the-world schemes. _Shego hadn't previously realized just how much of her time that had taken up. Now that she was no longer active, she was looking for something to do. She still wasn't sure of just what path she wanted to take. She had received a pardon, yes, but it did not protect her from any future crimes she committed.

As for Drakken, he seemed to be taking a long vacation from villainy. He hadn't bought or stolen anything from Henchco since he woke up from his coma, and there were rumors that he was giving up entirely. Shego was skeptical of that. As far as she saw, he didn't have a life outside his lame plans. Every once in a while, he came up with something that was halfway impressive, not that it ever stopped Kim Possible from stopping them.

"If I never see her again, it'll be too soon." Shego barely suppressed a shudder of fear. That murderous look in her eyes during Camp Wannaweep was not something she ever wanted to experience again. She truly believed that she was about to die.

To complicate things, Drakken constantly asked her how she was doing, if he could get her anything, and often going of his own accord to grab something, usually a beverage she didn't want. Why was he so obsessed with chocolate milk, anyway? "Another mystery of the universe," Shego shook her head. It was nice to know that he cared about her, that this was more than just a professional relationship, but his constantly worrying was driving her up the wall. She needed to get out of this place before she went nuts.

Shego pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and saw that she had a missed call from Ron. _Now that is a definite possibility, _Shego mused. The thought of seeing him filled her with pleasure. Normally, she was not shy about pursuing someone that she had an interest in, but... this was different. Over the course of their deadly adventures, she had fallen for him, truly fallen, in a way that she believed was impossible for her.

_But does he feel the same way? _Shego wondered. He was attracted to her, definitely. That was obvious to her, but did he feel anything deeper? Honestly, she had figured that he would go right back to Princess after she was rescued. She had hardened her heart in preparation and resolved to try and forget that their partnership ever existed. However, he seemed interested in at least being friends... and perhaps something more.

"Shego, I've been looking all over for you!" Drakken interrupted her thoughts, looking at her sternly. "Don't run off like that!"

"I'm your assistant, not a little kid!" Shego snapped at him. "I'll go wherever I damn well please, got it? Otherwise, we could play a nice game of 'Make Drakken go ouch!'"

"I just meant..." Drakken stammered out. "You haven't been yourself ever since I got back."

"Neither have you," Shego reminded. "Do you have your next unnecessarily complicated and doomed to fail scheme to take over the planet?"

"Shego, I really don't appreciate your attitude." Drakken complained. "Hmm, Dementor never has to deal with any of his assistants mouthing off to him all the time. All I mean is that I'm concerned about you. We are... sort of an evil family."

"Look, I'll be fine." Shego groaned. "Just go and sing karaoke with the henchmen... well away from earshot."

"Okay, okay," Drakken raised his hands in surrender. "But you know, if there's something you want, there's nothing stopping from just reaching out and taking it. I suppose you're well enough to travel now that your leg has healed."

"You know... I might just do that." Shego gave a sly smile.

XXXXXXXXX


	3. Discoveries

Updates are going to be a little slow, since I've got to start job-searching again, but I'll get as much done as I can.

XXXXXXXXXX

"The answer to your question is no, Ron." The apparition his room informed sternly.

"I don't understand." Ron replied, slightly confused. When he learned of what Kim was going through, he had contacted Yamanouchi for an answer. If anyone was capable of helping his best friend, it was them. They were supposed to stand for justice and helping others, so why were they refusing?

"It should be obvious even to someone as young as you." The woman warned. She was about ninety, although she looked over thirty years younger, due to MMP slowing the aging process. "Master Sensei is dead and we are not about to repeat his mistake. Your proposal is completely unacceptable."

"KP needs help, and you're the best ones to provide it." Ron argued. "She's struggling to deal with everything she's gone through, she's pushing everyone she cares about away, and she needs help. Why won't you do anything?" His voice rose a bit at those words.

"I've heard this same argument before." The woman cut him off before he could go on a rant. "Except it was about the one who now calls himself Shadow. I was against his training from the very beginning and my concerns turned out to be well-founded, Stoppable-san. We are not about to make a similar mistake again."

"Please help her!" Ron knew he was begging but didn't care at this point in time. "She says she's constantly angry, that she keeps having urges to attack. This can't be natural; I thought your job was to help people in need."

"Which is precisely what I am doing," The woman stated. "This is only more reason why Possible-san should not be allowed to train at our school, especially since she shows every indication of following her brother's path."

"I'm not asking you to train her, just help her, damn it!" Ron screamed.

"You should treat your elders with more respect." The woman admonished. "This discussion is over. If Possible shows up anywhere near our school, if you try and sneak her in there, we will take appropriate action. " The spirit disappeared before Ron could try to argue his case further.

_So what do I do now? _Ron wondered, at a loss. He thought for sure that Yamanouchi would assist, especially in light of everything both KP and himself had done to protect the school. He knew some people were judging Kim based on who her half-brother was, but he previously believed that Yamanouchi prided themselves above that. Apparently he was mistaken, or he had underestimated the impact Sensei's death had on them.

He wanted to send Kim yet another message, but knew that there was little point to it. She wouldn't reply, that much was clear. Ron just hoped the message he gave her during their brief visit actually got through to her. In order to calm his nerves, he used his abilities to levitate a glass ball, which was becoming easier by the day. "Wonder what I could really do with more formal training..." Ron tried to cheer himself up with, but it didn't last very long.

Felix had left a message a couple of days ago, telling him to simply be patient and that Kim would come to his senses. Now more than ever, he wished he had somebody to talk to. Ron was feeling very alone, a sensation that he previously did not believe would happen. KP wouldn't speak to him, Monique was furious with him, and while Felix attempted to keep in contact, he had a life of his own that was keeping him quite busy.

"Shouldn't make it so easy for someone to sneak up on you," He heard a voice say behind him. Ron jumped about a foot and before he knew it, blue energy ignited in his hands.

"Shego!" Ron exclaimed once he realized who it was. "How did you get in here?"

"You left the door unlocked; not real smart of you." Shego teased. "Not that it would have stopped me, or even slowed me down, but you ought to have put in the effort."

"Maybe I should ask: why are you here?" Ron wondered. "You could have called ahead, you know."

"And ruin the chance to make you jump out of your skin? I think not!" Shego laughed. "Seriously, though... look, if you don't want me here, I'll go."

"No, no, I didn't say that!" Ron hastened to reassure, painting a smile on his face. "To be honest, it's actually good to see you." He stared at her, unsure of what he should do. Neither of them had ever really dealt with their feelings toward one another. Should he just greet her? Kiss her? Hug her? He wasn't sure and it truly bothered him.

"Thanks; I don't hear that too often." Shego admitted. That was an understatement. She was quite flattered that someone actually wanted her around. She had the urge to do more, to push him up against the wall and kiss him senseless. As much as she desired to do so, however, she refrained. She didn't know how he would react to such boldness.

"I'd say come in, but I think you've managed that just fine on your own." Ron joked. "So how have things been with you?"

"I really needed to get out of that place." Shego groaned. "If I heard Drakken wondering where I was, how I was one more time, I was going to kill him."

"Huh, never would have believed Drakken was capable of caring about anyone." Ron mused. It made him see his enemy in a slightly different light. "Anyway, it looks like you haven't... committed any new crimes since all of this. That's good, right?"

"I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to keep doing this." Shego admitted, subtlety moving closer to him. She wanted to see his reaction, how acceptable this was to him. Already she could feel Ron's eyes scanning her. "I've been bored out of my mind. Normally, I'm off doing something, going on vacation or breaking into a bank."

"Sounds like you could use a vacation," Ron attempted to soothe.

"I know, but Doctor D won't let me go anywhere." Shego sighed. "He doesn't know... about anything that's gone on between us. Of course, knowing him, he could catch the two of us in bed together, and still wouldn't have a clue." She had to laugh at his rapidly growing blush.

"Okay, you have a point." Ron admitted, still trying to get the image out of his head without much success. "I've been kind of cooped up myself. What do you want to do?" He put his arm around her.

"Honestly... I came here to see if there was more." Shego confessed to him. "I wanted to know if you were still interested in any kind of relationship, or if you were still waiting for Princess."

"Yeah, you're real good at romantic proposals." Ron laughed in an effort to diffuse the situation. He didn't know what to say in response. A large part of him would like to try a relationship with her, but his feelings for Kim were far from gone, even if it was unlikely their relationship would ever be the same again. Ron just hoped that whatever he decided, he didn't end up breaking Shego's heart.

"I haven't gone on many dates for a long time." Shego reminded him. "So... what do you say?" Hope and fear warred within war as she awaited his response.

"What I say..." Ron thought to himself. "Kind of hard to put it into words."

"Then I'll save you the trouble..." Shego groaned, getting tired of him delaying and wanting a definite answer. She moved forward and smashed her lips on his, giving into her desires, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Ron responded eagerly, one hand wrapped up in her black hair, the other on her back, pushing her to him. She lost herself in his kiss, forgetting everything else.

"You're going to have to be a little patient with me." Ron reminded her. "I'm having everything hit me at once, here."

"So is that a yes?" Shego pressed.

"Yes... yes, it is." Ron smiled, kissing her on the cheek. Shego rolled her eyes at the romantic gesture, even though part of her thought it was sweet.

"So... what now?" Shego asked him. Normally, she knew what to do in these situations, but this was different. Ron was different than most of the men that she had gone out with.

"I'm kind of in the dark here, too." Ron was forced to admit. "This might be guesswork, but I'm guessing you don't go for the classic romantic gestures."

"You?! Shego?! Ick!" Rufus stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"None of your business, rodent." Shego snapped. "And yeah, that's never appealed to me. We are never, ever going to Bueno Nacho as a date, got it?"

"Haven't been there in over a week, anyway." Ron shrugged.

"Wait, who are you and what have you done with the real buffoon?" Shego's eyes widened. "You're not one of Doctor D's synthrodrones, right? I know he was thinking of making one of you, but after Princess' reaction, I talked him out of it."

"Nope, it's truly me." Ron opened his hands. "So what is your idea of fun?"

"Usually, the rush I get committing crimes, whether for myself or something that Drakken wanted." Shego informed. "I don't think that would be your idea of a pleasant date."

"We could just see where this goes." Ron suggested. "There's a lot that we don't know about one another, and I'm quite interested in learning more about you." He hugged her from behind, kissing her neck.

"I like the way you think." Shego grinned. "I'll have to show you my favorite pastime." She broke the embrace and moved into a fighting position.

"So you're that kind of woman?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "I'm not as easy to beat as I used to be." Both of them knew, though, that this was a cover for all of the emotional wounds that the pair were still dealing with, even if neither of them could admit it to themselves.

_He's right; he has gotten better. _Shego smirked. For a short period of time, she was able to forget. Forget her fear, forget the sensation of being helpless when it looked like Kim was going to kill her. She could forget that pardon or not, relationship or not, it did not fundamentally change the person she was. Ron refused to deal with it, but Shego was aware, even if subconsciously, that eventually, it would catch up to them.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So have you found anything?" Kim asked, impatient. Her brain had been scanned four times, but her mother had yet to even give a hint as to whether or not something was actually wrong with her mind, or if this was an entirely natural thing. She wasn't sure which of the possibilities frightened her more.

Ann didn't even seem to notice her question. She continued looking at the brain scan, rubbing her chin and muttering to herself. Each second dragged on and on until her mother finally turned around and began to speak. "Yes, I'm afraid I have." She forced the words out of her mouth. There had been too many lies; her daughter deserved to know the truth. "It appears as if your amygdala system is showing abnormal activity."

"So what does that mean?" Kim asked, growing increasingly impatient.

"The emotional center of your brain is hyperactive, to put it in layman's terms." Ann explained. "I'm not 100 percent sure, but I've got enough evidence to suggest that your innate abilities may be responsible for it, although I haven't the faintest idea why."

"So this power of mine is making me want to slaughter everyone in sight?" Kim groaned, the anger already beginning to resurface. "Great, I wish Dad had just let me suffer whatever it was going to be."

"You shouldn't talk like that, sweetheart." Ann defended her husband, as unhappy as she still was for keeping this secret for so long. "I know you're angry that he didn't tell you, and I understand that, but that procedure still saved your life, unethical as it was."

"Okay, it's my power, whatever it is, that's making my amy... brain go through fits." Kim pondered, wondering what to do about it. "Do you have any possible solutions for this?"

"Not offhand, but perhaps it would be useful if you told me the exact circumstances of how this power was activated." Ann interjected.

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about this." Kim sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I know it's difficult, but it can help me understand what's going on inside your head." Ann insisted. "If I know that, we'll be able to help you."

"All right, but it's going to be difficult, so bear with me." Kim gulped, her voice choking. Even though each word that came out of her mouth was painful, the thought of being able to repair what she had broken kept her talking. "I... I attempted to escape a couple days after I was kidnapped. I don't know exact how long it was; there was no way to keep track. He was smart, always keeping watch, but I timed it and... I was getting desperate." She sat down in the nearest chair to catch her breath.

"Keep going, honey, you're doing great." Ann encouraged.

"Just as I got to the exit, though, he showed up." Kim trembled. "It turned out... it was nothing more than a trick." It took several moments for her to be able to speak again. "He had let me attempt an escape, let me out of my room. I tried fighting him, used every trick I knew, but it didn't work. I... I'd never felt so helpless in my life!"

"That must have been terrible for you." Ann remarked, trying to comfort her daughter.

"He showed me an image of Ron and Shego together, kissing." Kim continued, bracing herself for what was about to come next. "It turns out that Ron had mistaken Shego for me, but I was so upset and confused and angry that I didn't realize it at the time. It enraged me and I began to fight back, feeling stronger than I ever had before. Once... once I realized what I was doing, I stopped until..." Kim was unable to continue after that.

"What did he do?" Ann approached her daughter and hugged. She was beginning to get a real picture of just what she had gone through now that she was speaking about the experience.

"He decided to intervene and destroy my self control." Kim whispered, her head against her mother's shoulder, her body shaking as she tried to hold back tears. "His exact words were: 'Don't suppress your emotions, Kimberly; use them! Channel your power! Unlock your full potential, and you will be invincible! Strike now! Stop holding back, Kimberly! Show me everything you can do!' Once he mentioned the possibility of Ron dying, I completely lost it and tried to kill him, truly tried."

"My god, Kim..." Ann whispered in horror, lost for words. Ambrose had done a number on her mind, completely twisted her worldview; small wonder she was falling apart.

"And the worst part of it was... I enjoyed it." Kim confessed, hoping that she wouldn't think of her as a monster when she uttered those words. "I enjoyed the feeling, enjoyed the power it gave me, even if it wasn't enough to win. When I woke up, I expected him to be furious and... braced myself for whatever torture he had planned. Instead, he was... proud of what I'd done."

"I think that's why your amydgala is hyperactive." Ann concluded. "It's because what you were feeling at the moment this power of yours was fully activated was the desire to kill. And honey, I don't blame you at all. You were in an impossible situation; any of us would have reacted the same. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But what can I do?" Kim wondered. "I can't feel like this forever, and I don't feel any freer than before. Sad as it is, I felt freer with Ambrose than I do now with the world hating me." However, she felt calmer just getting some of what she had gone through off of her chest. It was extremely difficult to tell the story, which barely scratched the surface, but she felt better afterwards.

"They're idiots if they judge you based on that." Ann promised. "As for what we can do... I'll look into it. I've got access to the finest minds of our time; they'll come up with something, I promise."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Took me long enough to get here, _The figure thought as he walked into the room. His target had been given a new identity and a new life, which made it tricky to track him down, but nothing was impossible for him.

It was a one-bedroom apartment and could barely occupy the two people currently snoring inside it, unaware of what was currently hunting them. The figure smiled to himself; it would be so easy to finish them now, but no. That was not part of the plan.

He walked into the bedroom, looking at the young man who was current snoring loud enough to be heard throughout the entire apartment complex. The boy was eighteen years old, on the verge of becoming a man. _Let's see how much of a man he is. _He thought, grabbing the boy's arm and shoving him to his feet. Much to his surprise, though, the boy refused to wake, so he decided to slap him across the face in order to get his attention.

"Huh, what?" the boy groaned, still not fully conscious. "Hey, Fred, it's the middle of the night. Work doesn't start until eight."

"I'm not your brother, you stupid boy." The figure hissed shoving him back onto the bed. He could see perfectly fine in the dark, but his target could barely make him out at all; perfect. "Jaime Winbolt A.K.A Gil Moss. I've been looking for you for a long time."

"What... what could you possibly want with me?" He asked, scared out of his mind.

"I'm here to give you an offer." The figure smiled, although Gil couldn't see it in the dark. "Do you recall the power you once had at your fingertips, thanks to your mutation? We have a common interest."

"Look, I don't want that power anymore!" Gil insisted. "I saw what it turned me into. I was a freak, a monster, and no matter how strong I was, I'm not going back to it!"

"You don't have to sacrifice anything." The figure attempted to persuade. "I know a way to let you have both your power and your humanity. All you have to do is agree."

"Yeah, like it's really going to be that simple." Gil rolled his eyes. "I know the deal, I've heard it before. Why do you think we went into hiding? I'm smart enough to know this comes with a price tag."

"Not a big one, merely the death of Ron Stoppable." The figure laughed. "Remember what he did to you: turned you into a monster, and turned you back when you found you enjoyed the power. I'd think killing him would be quite easy for you."

"I was a messed up kid back then!" Gil insisted definitely. "I don't have a grudge against Ron anymore. I'm just trying to live a life on my own; get out!"

"Then I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," he grinned, extending his hand and watching as red bolts came shooting out of his fingertips, hitting Gil in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony, rolling around on the floor. "You will do as I ask you; it's up to you how painful you want to make it."

"Fu... fuck you, whoever you are." Gil gasped out, trying to sound braver than he was. That was more painful than anything he had left in his life, even the broken collarbone he suffered in grade school.

"That was stupid of you." He laughed, shocking him again, increasing the intensity. While this ability was capable of killing, it was primarily used as a method of torture, as Gil's screams indicated.

His older brother came charging in with a baseball bat once he heard his brother's screams. He was all that was left of their family, and he was not going to let anything happen to his little brother. The intruder, however, laughed, and extended his other arm, lifting him up into the air, using his power to cut off his air supply. "This makes things much more entertaining." The figure laughed, turning on the light; it made no difference at this point, anyway.

Gil looked at him, trying to memorize everything about him for the future. He was wearing a black robe and his face was concealed with some kind of mask that he couldn't recognize. "Let him go!" He demanded.

"As you wish," the figure laughed, dropping him to the ground, hitting him with lightning bolts the instant his body hit the floor. "Now I have the serum with me: you have about... five minutes before this kills your older brother to decide what you want to do with it."

"No... no, don't." Fred begged through the pain.

"Yes, how very typical." He sneered, steadily increasing the intensity of his attack. The police had doubtless been alerted and were on their way, but by the time they arrived, he'd be long gone. _As if they could do anything against such a superior being, _He sneered. "You have four minutes left."

Gil looked at the serum on the chestnut drawers, frantically looking between it and his older brother. He didn't want to become that monster again, but he had yet to find a way out of this. Mike was going to die if he didn't do something, and time was rapidly running out. "Okay, let him go; I'll do it!" Gil conceded, collapsing onto his knees. "I'll do as you ask!"

"Then you might want to hurry and drink that serum; your brother only has three minutes left." The figure warned. Gil drank the serum, bracing himself for the changes that were to come.

"Okay, now let him go." Gil glared. The figure pondered killing his brother anyway, just because he had the power to do so but refrained.

"He's coming with us, just to make sure you don't get any ideas about betraying me." The figure declared, gagging Fred. "I have an excellent place for you to train for Stoppable's death.

XXXXXXXXX

That was a scene I was originally going to add in the last chapter, but I decided to focus more on internal conflict during the beginning. Things are definitely heating up now. Yes, Ron and Shego are in a relationship now, but it's going to be far from a smooth ride.

Next chapter: wanting to apologize for her actions, Kim meets up with Ron... and runs into Shego.


	4. Reconcilation

"I thought romantic gestures weren't your thing." Ron teased Shego as the two of them ate. Fortunately, he was now allowed to his limited access of Naco funds in order to pay for dinner at the best restaurant in Middleton.

"It's not; I enjoyed our fight a lot more than this." Shego reminded, though indeed, she was having more fun than she thought she would. She hadn't been to any kind of fancy restaurant since the moodulator incident and assumed that it was merely a byproduct. Yet, here she was, eating dinner and gazing at a boy- no, he was a man now, that much was clear- that she would never even had glanced at a few months ago.

"I'll win one of these days." Ron promised.

"Yeah, keep dreaming, buffoon." Shego disagreed. He did well, but she still had superior experience and Ron was still untrained with his abilities. He wasn't at KP's level, at least not yet. _Course, at this rate, he'll surpass her one day; I'd enjoy seeing the look on her face when she discovers that. _That is, until she remembered the kind of state she was in.

"Least your disguise seems to be working," Ron remarked. Nobody there had given them the least bit of attention. In the past, Ron wanted nothing more to be as famous as his best friend and went to truly absurd lengths in order to do so. Now, however, he was perfectly content to be anonymous.

"Most of these idiots wouldn't recognize me even without the disguise." All Shego had done was wear brown-colored contacts, lighten her hair slightly, and was able to fit in perfectly with everyone else. "I know you don't want to hear this, Ron, but I'm kind of bored."

"I'm kind of playing it by ear here, remember?" Ron informed her. Kim loved this, but Ron knew he had to keep in mind that Shego was different.

"I know you mean well; I was just pointing it out." Shego replied, hoping that he could not detect her nervousness. Most of her doubt about Ron turning his back on her had disappeared, but even so, some parts of it still lingered. A lifetime of hurt and betrayal did not disappear easily. Besides... she was having fun, mostly because he was with her.

"So have you been doing anything with yourself lately?" Ron wondered in an effort to start a conversation.

"Actually, when I could get away with it, I snuck out of the lair to go out and have a bit of fun." Shego admitted. "I just went clubbing, danced, got into a couple of bar fights. Had a hell of a time and even Drakken scolding me like an overprotective father didn't ruin the moment."

"Should have guessed you were a clubbing type of girl," Ron teased. "So... why didn't you meet up with me earlier?" He hoped he didn't do anything wrong. He knew how often he messed up with girls, often ending in a bad position with whoever it was no interested in any explanations. "It's been about a month since I've seen you."

"I was nervous, ok?" Shego blurted out, wishing that she could take the words back. She hated looking vulnerable in front of anyone, although he had seen her in an even worse shape. "I'm not used to having a social life. You're not angry, are you?"

"I'm not mad... just worried that I might have said or done something." Ron admitted.

"Don't go there, ok?" Shego rolled her eyes. "You should know me better than that. I'm not one to keep my emotions a secret from others." They talked for a few more minutes before leaving, each of them nervous and excited at the same time.

When she climbed onto the back of his scooter, Shego remarked: "You were able to pay 250 dollars for dinner, and yet you can't buy yourself a new scooter. If you nice nicely, I may be able to get you... fifty bucks for this thing."

"Ha ha, very funny." Ron replied. "This was a special occasion. I was trying to make sure you had fun."

"How could you afford all this, anyway?" Shego wondered. "Was that Naco idea really worth that much?"

"Yep, get a nickel for each naco they sell." Ron smiled, barely remembering to keep his eyes on the road. Shego's body pressed against him interfered with his concentration. "Bueno Naco's one of the smaller national chains, but they sell around 15 million a year. That means I make about 300 grand each year from this, and they're expanding."

"You now have my undivided attention." Shego purred. Money did turn her on, something she was forced to admit, but it was never enough to keep her interest by itself.

"Maybe I should just take you clubbing next time." Ron remarked. "Nah, better scratch that."

"Come on, you might have more fun than you think." Shego smiled. "I'd have to blast those girls to keep them away from you."

"I just don't want to have to kill anyone." Ron explained. "After all, everyone would notice a girl as gorgeous as you and I happen to be quite jealous."

"You know, you sound like one of those bad romance novels I used to read." Shego pointed out. "No, no, that line was worse."

"Wait, you used to read those things?" Ron grinned, already seeing the possibilities. "I wonder what people would say if they knew that dirty little secret. I'd love to see the look on Drakken's face when he hears that."

"You tell him anything of the sort, I'll fry you!" Shego screamed, jumping out of his lap and glaring at him furiously. It took her several moments to realize that Ron was merely teasing her. Once that information dawned on her, she winced. _Am I trying to push him away? _How could she have reacted that way? Shego scanned his face, bracing herself for whatever he said.

"I'm sorry, Shego; I was only teasing you." Ron sighed, the romantic moment ruined. Truth be told, he was beginning to become comfortable enough around her to where he overlooked that she still had major trust issues and while she stated otherwise, Ron knew she was still worried that one day he would turn his back on her. Those fears would likely take a long time to go away, being that she had issues that made his seem trivial by comparison. "I... should have known better."

"Don't say that kind of thing, damn it!" Shego's anger had not entirely faded, and snide comments was her method of protecting herself. "Have you forgotten everything I told you, buffoon? Don't joke about that, all right?"

Ron hugged her from behind, trying to comfort her. "I'm just joking around; I didn't realize you'd get so angry. Can you forgive me?" He ran a finger up and down her arm to make a point.

"Yeah, I can forgive you." Shego sighed. "It's just hard to forget the past sometimes." Trying to rekindle the mood, she turned around and kissed him soundly, pressing him into the couch.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim knew that she shouldn't be nervous as she walked up to Ron's house. She'd been there literally thousands of times before; it had become almost like a second home to her. She had many fond memories of the place, and even despite the situation, she couldn't help but chuckle at what kind of trouble the two of them managed to get themselves into over the years.

_How did it come to this? _Kim asked herself. Had they really grown so far apart that a simple visit was this difficult? The answer appeared to be yes, at least on her part, and it was all because of her. Ron had done everything he could to help her and she had done nothing but push him away out of fear. Now she was crawling back; could she really expect him to accept her back as if nothing had ever happened?

That was the real reason she hovered outside his doorstep, hesitant to walk in or knock on the door. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her nerves, but after more than a minute, Kim had yet to move from her current spot. After two more attempts, she finally opened the door, looking forward to seeing her old friend, and yet dreading it at the same time.

"He shouldn't be hard to find." Kim muttered. She had chosen a time when she knew his parents would not be home. Kim was well aware what they thought of her after everything that had happened and after dealing with the constant hate mail, threats on the phone, curses on the street, it was more than she could take. As it was, it was extremely difficult to control her temper. At least now she knew what was partially responsible for her change in behavior.

She spotted him, all right, but the sight was completely unexpected. Kim had walked in on Shego as well, who was currently holding Ron's arms behind his back, lips near his ear. Kim was transfixed by the sight, but not for long.

Letting instinct take over, she charged into action, kicking Shego across the jaw and sending her to a heap on the ground. Kim stood behind Ron, unwilling to let him suffer any more than he already had, preparing herself for Shego's counter-attack. It was going to be difficult fighting her without giving into her hatred, but for the sake of everyone she loved, it had to be done.

"Oh, my God, are you all right, Ron?" Kim worried, not daring to look back at him in case a moment's distraction was enough for Shego to take advantage. Shego was pushing herself back onto her feet, Kim warily watching her and only barely restraining herself from attacking.

"KP, what are you doing?" Ron asked in astonishment, stepping between the two women before any bloodshed occurred. Shego wiped her lip, murder in her eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" Kim demanded. She knew Shego was low, but attacking her best friend in her own home? _Yes, she should pay for this. _Her internal voice whispered. _Killing her would be a simple task. _

"Maybe you should mind your own business, Princess!" Shego shouted, trying to sound braver than she was. She was afraid of her nemesis now, truly afraid. The instant she spotted Kim, Ambrose's words came back to haunt her. _"Strike! Strike now! Kill her!" _From the way she appeared, Kim looked like she wanted to do just that.

"KP, calm down, please." Ron pleaded with her. He desperately wanted to see Kim, but really, it was hard to think of worse timing than this. She and Shego were volatile at the best of times, but now... it'd be a small miracle to keep blood off the walls. "Shego isn't here to attack me. She was just... visiting."

"You're telling me this was a social call?" Kim asked skeptically. She couldn't imagine it of Shego. It was hard to think of a more unlikely duo. What could Ron possibly see in a criminal like her? _You're a murderer and yet he's tried to stay connected to you. _She reminded herself.

"Are you really as stupid as you sound?" Shego sneered. "Never thought it was possible, but apparently it's true." Ron made a gesture telling her to shut up. Her comments were not going to help matters any.

"Look, KP, me and Shego kind of... connected when you were gone." Ron tried to break it to her gently. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell her that they were in a relationship just yet. "Once it was over, we found that we had quite a bit in common."

"How many times has she come over?" Kim wondered, angry but beginning to see sense.

"This is the first time, actually, but we've been talking and texting on the phone." Ron explained. "Wade can verify it; I'm sure he's been tapping every piece of electronic equipment I have." The fact irritated him, but he was also aware that there was little he could do about it, so he put up with it as best he could.

"You can't trust her!" Kim warned. "You think that pardon you received changed anything about who she is?!"

"You know nothing about me, you bitch!" Shego shouted, her hands igniting with plasma. "Shut up!" She was nearly as angry with Ron as she was with Kim. How could he not have told her the truth? Was he ashamed of their relationship? Was this just a fling to him? It never crossed her mind that he might be doing this in order to protect her.

Ron stood between them, blue energy crackling from his body. He did not wish to make such a show of his powers, but it was evident that if he did not, Kim would likely end up killing Shego. Yes, she'd feel great remorse after it, but it wouldn't be enough to stop her. "Shut up, both of you." He demanded. "KP, Shego and I are friends. I know you two hate one another..."

"Because she tried to kill me," Shego reminded.

"And you have a long history of being enemies," Ron finished as though Shego had not spoken. It was best to ignore her words. "However, I'm not throwing her out of my life just because you two have issues with one another. The same goes for you, Shego."

"So now you're taking her side?" Shego groaned. "Your so-called best friend just tried to kill me, in case you're forgotten. Oh, wait, you're just excusing it, saying she wasn't in her right mind. What a load of bullshit! She's always wanted to kill me; her brother just gave her permission!"

"Shego, you know that isn't true..." Ron tried to soothe, but her emotions were too far gone to settle.

"I'm done listening to this!" Shego snarled, heading for the door. "Let me know when you're done making excuses for her!"

"Well... that could have gone better." Kim sighed, collapsing onto the couch. She felt tears coming on, but she had cried far too often for her taste lately and she refused to do so again.

"So what is it?" Ron asked, more harshly than he had intended. The stress of keeping Kim and Shego from killing each other, not to mention everything else, was beginning to take its toll on him.

"I don't blame you for being angry." Kim sighed. "I... know I haven't been a good friend lately. If you want me to leave, I will."

"No, Kim, don't go." Ron asked her, trying to keep the pleading out of his voice and not entirely succeeding. "You had bad timing, that's all. It's good to see you. What made you decide to come over?"

"Mom helped me realize how foolish I was being." Kim admitted. "I'm... I'm sorry I treated you that way. You were just trying to help and I was using you as an emotional punching bag."

"Kim, I understand; you've been through a lot." Ron shrugged, what little anger he had with her fading. "I've really missed you, you know. I haven't been to Bueno Nacho is weeks."

"Does that mean I have to run any tests on you?" Kim teased. "This can't be the real Ron Stoppable! You must be a synthrodone!"

"Ha ha, very funny, KP." Ron rolled his eyes, relieved that she was slowly getting back to normal. "So have you been doing anything?"

"Not really; haven't had the heart to leave my house." Kim informed him. "I'm getting tired of being stared at on the street like I might go berserk at any second. I know I deserve it, but it's still not easy to deal with."

"KP, don't say that, don't ever." Ron admonished her, folding both of her hands in his. "If they judge you based on who your family is, then they're worth nothing, all right? At least that's what you always told me, anyway."

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," Kim replied, her heart sinking. "I know I might be asking too much, but... do you want to go out and do something tomorrow?"

"What did you have in mind?" Ron wondered. He knew Kim's tastes and it likely wasn't going to be something he liked, but if it meant he got to spend time with her again, he could put up with almost anything.

"I didn't think that far ahead; I wasn't sure you'd agree to it." Kim admitted. "How about just Bueno Nacho? I still can't believe you haven't been to that place."

"People change," Ron shrugged. "Speaking of which, I have a little trick I want to demonstrate to you." He raised his hand, focused with all his might, and telekinetically lifted up a nearby glass, having it float right in front of her. Kim could hardly believe her eyes. Was she seeing what she thought she was, or was this her imagination? She knew Ambrose could do that, but didn't realize Ron had advanced that far.

"That's... that's amazing." Kim stammered out. "How did you manage that?"

"I've spent a lot of time practicing my abilities." Ron replied. "Even if we're not saving the world anymore, it doesn't seem wise to be unprepared. I'm sure we've got enemies that want us dead."

"Apart from the reminder that people want to kill us, that was amazingly mature for you." Kim complimented.

"Hey, I'm full of surprises." Ron grinned, a weight lifting off of his chest now that Kim was back in his life.

"Ron, I think I owe you an explanation." Kim sighed, her serious face returning. She sat down on the couch, preparing herself for what she was about to say. "Mom... found something. Don't interrupt; this is difficult enough to blurt out."

Ron sat down next to her, listening in silence as she told her tale, her horror when she learned that her abilities were affecting her brain. From there, the conversation turned to her captivity, talking about the circumstances they were activated, how it was the first time she had ever truly wanted to kill someone. With each word, she leaned closer to him, her head against his chest with his arms wrapped around her.

It was much easier to tell her story the second time around. While both of them knew Kim had barely scratched the surface of her ordeal, it was at least an important first step to recovering from it. Ron was lost for words; what could he possibly say to that? What could make it better? He knew there was no magic cure, that Kim was not going to instantly bounce back from this the way she did with everything else.

"I... I can barely imagine what you went through." Ron gasped out. He had in fact been imagining countless nightmare scenarios from the very moment she was abducted to now. "Maybe you should talk to a shrink."

"Now you sound like my parents; they've been dragging me to one every week." Kim groaned. "I've had quite enough of them."

"It was just a suggestion, KP." Ron told her. Both of them knew that they had hurt each other badly, and that the wounds would take time to heal. For now, however, Kim focused on the fact that for the first time since all of this began, she was actually feeling happy.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Director, do you really believe moving these idols is considered ideal?" Tristan Douglas wondered. He was a relatively new agent, but from what little Director had seen of him, he had the potential to go far. She only barely managed to persuade him to join, when both the CIA and FBI were interested in recruiting him as well.

"You know as well as I do that our security is not fool-proof and this base is an open secret." Director informed. The base was in the Rocky Mountain and technically a government secret, although everyone knew of its existence. Keeping people from getting inside was a major problem and more than once, they had conspiracy theorists break in, trying to prove that they had alien technology.

"Yes, but during transfer is when it'll be most vulnerable and with respect, I'm sure others know of their existence." Tristan tried to warn, albeit carefully, knowing that she was his boss.

"It's an acceptable risk; I'll hear no more of it." Director dismissed him. She didn't like being reminded of what she was doing, especially since they had still yet to figure out just what those idols were supposed to do. For all she knew, they could be a massive bomb that would go off when tampered with.

_I just hope Miss Possible is getting herself together. _Director thought to herself. She had every intention of asking her to return to Global Justice once she was positive that she posed no threat to herself or others. As far as she was concerned, that day could not come soon enough, even if some of her agents had reservations about her. There was nothing she could do about their opinions, however.

"They are quite impressive, aren't they?" Tristan looked at them with a smile. Unlike some, he was unafraid to go near them, a point that Director considered in his favor.

"Just don't touch them with your bare hands." Director warned. It was amazing how often she had to repeat such elementary advice.

"Yeah, the last person I saw do that drove the lesson home." Tristan remarked. Before Director could reply to him, red lights began to flash. Everyone inside knew that could only mean one thing.

"Director, we have an intruder!" One of the agents screamed into their comlink.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Director asked. There were many possibilities as to who it was, but she knew that there was only one reason why someone would dare break into the place.

"I don't know; some kind of creature." The agent responded frantically. "Two of our agents are already down, and it's got no heat signature, so our night vision goggles are useless!"

"I'll help them out, even if field work is not my area of expertise." Tristan offered.

"No, you stay here and guard the idols." Director ignored his suggestion. He didn't have the experience to face a threat of this magnitude. _I have a very bad feeling about this._

XXXXXXXXXX

You didn't think Ron and Shego were going to get through this relationship smoothly, did you? At least Kim and Ron seem to be making up, although they've got many more dangers to go through. I think I've only got 2-3 chapters left, being that this is mainly an interlude before the sequel. Hopefully, the next update won't take as long.


	5. Dark Temptations

Honestly, I'm not 100 percent happy with this, but it's been about 2 weeks and I didn't want to keep my readers waiting any longer. I hope you enjoy the new installment and as always, please let me know what you think of it.

XXXXXXXXXX

She had been friends with Ron Stoppable for fourteen years. In that time, they had done just about everything together, with her often dragging him along to her adventures and her interests. They knew everything about one another, knew what the other would say almost before they opened their mouths. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that Ron knew her even better than her own parents.

And yet, sitting with him at Bueno Nacho, an act they had done hundreds of times before, Kim felt like she was really meeting him for the first time. He had changed greatly over the past couple of months. Kim kept expecting his jokes, quips that amused no one but himself. If someone asked her what she thought of him, she knew she would have said that ninty-nine percent of the time, they simply irritated her and made her want to pull out her hair by the roots.

Now, however, she would give anything to hear them again. Ron's silence and seriousness was alien to her. They had sat there for over fifteen minutes, but neither of them had spoken a word to each other. The only noise made was Rufus eagerly gulping down his meal and rubbing his stomach.

Kim searched her mind, trying to come up with a topic that would get his attention. Her previous attempts had failed; the only thing they actually seemed to be able to talk about at the moment, at least to one another, was their shared experiences. Kim didn't want to relive it again; she relived it every night, which was more than enough. This turn of events was astonishing. She knew there was some kind of barrier between them put up, perhaps subconsciously by both, but she had yet to breach it.

_Anything's possible for a Possible, _Kim told herself. The instant those words entered her mind, she wished she could forget them. Their family slogan seemed much more sinister now, as she remembered Ambrose's mocking words towards her- no, their- father. "So... where are you going to college?" Kim asked. She knew better than to ask "if". A couple of years ago, it didn't seem as if Ron had any ambitions; much had changed since then.

"I've... already sent an application in to Middleton University." Ron replied. "They said they require a 3.0 GPA to transfer directly from high school. I just barely made the cut."

"I can't see how they'd possibly turn you down; I saw your last report card." Kim complimented.

"Amazing what a bit of studying was able to accomplish." Ron chuckled weakly. "I've even been looking at how much the dorms are going to cost me and whether I want to live there, continue to stay at home, or find myself an apartment. So... how about you?"

"I actually haven't filled out any applications." Kim admitted, beginning to get depressed again. Her life had been on hold for the past couple of months. "I was planning on applying to as many scholarships as possible, but..." She trailed off, knowing that she was imprisoned, preventing that plan from taking place.

Ron sensed her discomfort and tried to turn the topic away. Throughout their meeting, he had been feeling something. He couldn't put his finger on it and half the time, he dismissed it as being paranoid, but nonetheless, there was a certain feeling of danger. "Remember, you're welcome to come over whenever you wish." Ron reminded her, trying to cheer you up. "Well, at least when I actually get a place of my own. Besides, no time like the present. I'm sure every college in the country will accept you."

"Uh... thanks, Ron." Kim blushed. Even though the romantic part of their relationship had dissolved, she continued to harbor feelings for it. Part of her hoped that they would be able to rekindle it one day, despite the strong obstacles placed in their way. "You know, I should probably get on that. It's not like me to be too lazy."

"It's a trait we all share," Ron joked. "Some of us just happen to be better at it than others." He leaned back and put his feet on top of the booth, his hands behind his head. "You know sixteen forms of Kung-Fu; I know sixteen ways to relax."

"I'd point out that we're in public, but somehow, I don't think that would bother you." Kim teased, her mood lightening a bit, although she suspected he was putting on this show for her benefit than out of any true indifference as to what people thought of him.

"You're the one who told me not to worry about others." Ron pointed out.

"I should have made a couple exceptions," Kim rolled her eyes, but her dark mood was lifting. She was almost able to ignore the suspicious looks she was getting from many of the restaurant's occupants. Attention she was used to, but hatred was another matter entirely.

"College should prove to be... well, at least interesting." Ron admitted. "Certainly couldn't be worse than High School. Who says those are the best years of your life?"

"I didn't mind it so much."Kim shrugged. "So not the drama, Ron."

Rather than reply, Ron scanned the restaurant, unsure of what he was looking for. He only knew he had a bad feeling and it wasn't something that he was able to ignore. "All right, I'll change the subject." Ron conceded. "By the way, it looks like Smarty Mart might accept me back."

"Are you going to take the job?" Kim wondered.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Ron informed. "Strictly speaking, I don't need to be working right now. On the other hand, I don't want to become what I was a couple years ago with my brief millionaire phase. That and it gives me something to do now that we're not on missions anymore."

"You actually miss them?" Kim raised her eyebrows.

"Not exactly what I was expecting, I'll admit." Ron gave a dry laugh. "Still, how many kids can say that they protected the world on a regular basis?"

"Yeah, I miss it too." Kim smiled. "Going to college won't be nearly as exciting by comparison."

"Hold on, I'm going to get some more nachos." Ron lied. Truth be told, he wanted to find out what was making his mind go haywire. A couple of seconds after he headed to the register, an electric bolt struck the place he was currently sitting. Kim immediately rolled into action, getting into a defensive crouch. Ron did the same, moving to cover her.

"Seriously, Drakken, haven't you given it up by now?" Kim groaned, speaking to their attacker. She still had not spotted whoever it was, but Drakken was the first one her mind went to when her instincts took over.

"Don't insult me, Possible." A female voice echoed through the building. The other customers bolted, knowing better than to stick around.

It suddenly occurred to Ron who their attacker was. "Electronique!" He exclaimed as the villain revealed herself. It appeared as if she had gotten a makeover; her eyes were now glowing red, and her costume was surging with energy. "Wait, I thought you were Team Go's arch nemesis. Why are you coming after us?"

Rather than answer, she used her jetpack to fly out of the building, firing electrical bolts at random people. Not at lethal levels, merely enough to ensure that her two opponents would follow her. "I was offered more money than either of you could dream of for this." Electronique smiled. Her new ally also promised to help her defeat Team Go once her task was complete. "Your only option is whether you'll come along as prisoners... or corpses."

"I suggest you back down... now." Ron warned, putting as much intimidation as he could into his voice. Truth be told, he didn't worry about the prospect of her trying to kill them. He worried more about how Kim would react and what she might do in response to such a threat. She was still trying to keep her impulses under control and nothing would ignite them more than an immediate threat.

"Oh, please, you're pathetic." Electronique sneered. In the end, her orders were actually quite simple. _Capture Possible, kill... _She couldn't remember the other's name, only that her ally referred to him as "Outsider". "Neither of you have any chance at beating me."

"Surrender; this is your last chance." Kim warned, her fury boiling just beneath the surface. She moved to put electromique between Ron and herself. Despite her bravado, she knew her opponent was formidable. Last time around, she needed Team Go's assistance to put an end to her. Kim was relieved Ron was by her side; it nearly equaled her terror at anything happening to him.

"Unless you have Team Go with you, I'm not going to need one." Electronique bragged. Tired of talking, she sprung into action, rushing right towards Ron, who was fortunately prepared for her attack, unlike the last time they fought.

He ducked under her punches, deflecting a kick, but she moved so fast, it was everything he could do to stay unscathed. Counterattack was out of the question at this point. Ron vaguely remembered his evil self being able to overpower her, but at the moment, it was not something he was capable of as of yet. _Besides... let her underestimate me. _Ron mentally smiled.

Their battle lasted only a couple seconds before Kim joined in, fighting aggressively, standing between Electronique and Ron. Electronique was initially taken aback by her change in tactics, firing numerous electrical bolts in order to regain the imitative. However, Kim was accustomed to dodging Shego's blasts, meaning that it was a simple task to stay out of danger.

Ron used a leg sweep, knocking her onto her back. She was able to get away before he could do anything else, but it still forced Electronique to keep his attention on him. He hoped that Kim would take his cue and allow him to direct the course of this fight, even though it was a new experience for him. He did not want the demon in his best friend's heart to be unleashed, not now. He and Electronique traded blows at close to six per second

Electronique was distracted, her shock at Ron's fighting prowess not completely worn off. It allowed him to hold his own, standing there, not backing away an inch. While she was occupied with him, Kim attacked her from behind, maneuvering around her, breaking through her defenses, and leaping away before she could strike back.

She quickly realized that this wasn't a game, that the two of them were serious opponents. However, she was accustomed to being outnumbered through her many attempts to defeat Team Go.

"Thought I used that Attitunidator on you." Ron remarked as his hands began to glow, try as he might to suppress them. He wanted a trump card in case the battle was beginning to go against them.

"It wears off after about a month; you didn't seriously think I'd be foolish enough not to make sure I wouldn't be affected by my own designs?" Electronique avoid a series of blows from Kim and buried her fist into Ron's stomach, sending him to the ground. However, he grabbed her legs as he fell, taking her with him and landing a solid punch to her jaw.

Kim could do little but watch as the two of them struggled. At such close range, she couldn't attack for fear of hitting Ron. Part of her was impressed at his combat prowess, but it was overshadowed by her fear. She still didn't think Ron was skilled enough to be fighting alongside her, much less take the lead in their adventures.

Electronique shocked them both and jumped over them, fleeing from the scene. Neither of them were in the least fooled; she was leading them straight into a trap.

"Should we follow her?" Ron wondered, trying to calm her down as he saw the adrenaline flow through her body.

"No, we're going to bring her down!" Kim exclaimed, but with fury instead of her typical enthusiasm. She snarled and gave pursuit, Ron worriedly dogging her heels. She was so furious, she couldn't think straight. All she wanted now was to squeeze the life out of the woman who attempted to murder her. _Haven't I gone through enough?! _Kim thought to herself, unaware of how her anger was influencing her.

The two of them cornered electronique near the Middleton mall. Electronique was scrambling her brain trying to come up with a way to defeat them. Where Team Go was always struggling to work together, the two of them worked seamlessly, anticipating the other's movements almost before they made them. She was beginning to think that escape should be her new plan.

Now in true fear, she stopped holding back, disregarding the plan that called for only one of Team Possible to die. Careless of any bystanders, she launched the strongest blasts she could possibly muster, forcing her opponents to dodge frantically in order to stay alive. What she failed to realize was that the only thing she was accomplishing was pushing Kim farther to the dark side.

Ron knew he had to stop holding back; his sides were beginning to hurt from moving so quickly. He fired a few shots of his own to knock her off balance. Non-lethal, of course; at this stage of his training, he couldn't fire deadly attacks even if he had the inclination to. He kicked Electronique across the jaw, sending a glowing hand into her ribcage. Further attacks were evaded, but the blows he managed to land at least slowed her down somewhat.

What was complicating matters was that a growing crowd was showing up to watch their fight. Ron wanted to knock some sense into them; didn't they have any idea of the kind of danger they were putting themselves in?! Not to mention what it could do to Kim's fragile mind.

Electronique realized that even if the outsider had greatly improved his skills, Kim was still the most dangerous threat. She needed to be subdued quickly, since she was beginning to realize that this job could very well end up costing her life. Kim had lost most of her restraint, with only a few traces of it remaining. She was not yet fighting with the intent to kill, but she was attacking with much more ferocity than was typical for her.

She blasted Ron in the chest, and flipped over Kim, grabbing a random member of the crowd and terrifying them all into silence. "Let her you, go bitch!" Kim demanded, eyes flashing with fury. Her recollection of her powers messing with her mind was completely forgotten in the midst of battle.

Electronique's hostage, a teenage girl who was a couple of years below Team Possible in high school, was doing her best to be brave, but it was obvious to anyone that she gravely feared for her life as she was used as a human shield.

_I've got to find some way to get around her, but how? _Ron attempted to calculate. He couldn't aim precisely enough or quick enough that Electronique couldn't find behind her human shield. Ron was disgusted at her for using such a tactic, although not especially surprised. All he could do now is wait for an opening.

Kim disregarded cautions entirely. Moving faster than even she imagined possible, she forced Electronique to let go of her hostage and drove her back, meter by meter. At this point, Electronique decided this assignment was not worth the reward she would receive and simply looked for a way to escape, only Kim refused to provide her with one. Kim broke her opponent's nose, spraying them both with blood. The fact that she had put Ron in danger only fueled her resolve.

The advantage was Kim's and she was pressing it, Electronique able to do little more than stumble and fall back. She recognized the transformation that was taking place; a dark cloud was threatening to overwhelm Kim, victory overruling all other thoughts in her mind.

In her haste to retreat, Electronique tripped over a fire hydrant and all she was able to do is hold up her arm to protect her face as Kim punched and kicked every inch of her that she was able to access. By the time Ron arrived at the scene, Electronique was in a rapidly forming pool of blood, with Kim standing over her, her body shaking with indecision.

"KP, calm down; it's going to be okay." Ron promised. "It's going to be okay; it's over."

"Stop saying that!" Kim screamed at him. "She tried to kill you!"

"Kp, look at her; she's beaten." Ron tried to reason with her, seeing her brain go haywire. "She's no threat to either of us anymore."

Kim glanced at Electronique, who was currently crying and begging for mercy. She saw not a dangerous villain who tried to murder them both, but a trembling and broken woman. While her battle rage continued to tell her to finish the job, reason gradually prevailed and Kim backed away, deciding to let the police take her into custody.

It was over... except for one minor complication. That complication came in the form of a rock hitting her in the back of the head.

It was then that Team Possible became aware of the large crowd gathering around them. From the looks of it, they were angry and more than a few were screaming profanities.

"Murderer!" One of the crowd screamed as Ron stood in front of Kim protectively. She was only beginning to calm herself; the last thing they needed was for her previous rage to overwhelm her once again.

"They ought to lock you up, you psychotic bitch!" Another proclaimed, with a strong assent of approval.

"You're no different than your brother!" A third exclaimed. Kim bowed her head, trying with all her might to get control of her emotions. Considering the size of the crowd, there was no way she could get away from them without fighting and she was intelligent enough to know that if she started throwing punches at this point, she could end up killing someone. She was considered a dangerous fighter even to trained supervillains; ordinary citizens could do nothing to oppose her.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Ron all but dragged her, looking for an opening in the crowd. Some of them began to start throwing eggs and rotten vegetables. _Where did they get all of these, anyway? _Ron wondered. He didn't bother keeping track of what they said; it was nothing but insults, anyhow.

Kim, on the other hand, had finally reached her breaking point. "Enough!" She screamed at the crowd, clenching her fists and trembling. It was then that everyone began to realize what would happen if indeed she was pushed too far. "This is how you repay me? By spitting on me, sending me death threats, hurling rocks and rotten vegetables at us?! We protected your ungrateful, worthless lives for years! I spent most of my free time protecting you from one threat after another!

"And I did it... because I thought it was right, because I thought people were essentially good. And now, after everything I've done for you, you condemn me just because I was kidnapped and manipulated. I'm not him! Are you really that shallow to judge based on something I can't choose?"

The crowd was silent for a few moments, and Ron hoped that at least some of them would see reason. His hopes were dashed when he heard someone scream: "If you had any decency, you'd blow your brains out! You don't deserve to live!"

Another rock was thrown in her direction, but this time, she caught it and sent it hurling back at the youth attacking her. It hit him directly in the stomach, sending him crumbling to the ground. The crowd looked at one another in shock, seeing that they might be in very real danger. Kim fought her way through, elbowing and kicking anyone who didn't get out of her way fast enough to suit her.

She didn't say another word as the two of them walked back to her house. Ron had no idea what to say; his cynicism was beginning to grow. If someone had mentioned previously how easily the public would turn against his best friend, he would simply laughed and dismissed the very thought. Now, though, with them refusing to even heat her side, amplifying the trauma of her kidnapping... and while she didn't mention it, Wade had informed him that she was receiving death threats on almost a daily basis.

When they arrived at her house, she collapsed to her knees and screamed in frustration, with Ron at a loss as to what to do. Her house was in ruins, with eggs and toilet paper thrown all over it and every single one of the windows broken. Ron was becoming sorely tempted to teach some of those punks a lesson himself.

However, there was little choice in the matter. Kim walked inside, where she saw her family huddling in the kitchen. "Are... are you guys all right?" Kim wondered. None of them seemed physically harmed, merely shaken.

"I... I can't believe it." Ann replied, struggling to find her voice. "There had to have been at least a dozen of them. They attacked our house, and one of them even threatened to kill us all. We had to call the police in order to get rid of them."

"We were about to use our invention on them," Tim spoke up.

"It'd teach them never to attack us again." Jim finished.

"Boys, a death ray is not to be used on a crowd, even an angry mob." James lectured.

"We got attacked too; Electronique tried to kill us." Ron informed her. He knew Kim would likely be unhappy with him, but he felt that her family needed to know what was going on.

"Oh, my god!" James exclaimed. "Are you all right, Kimmie-cub?"

"Yes; nothing we haven't handled before." Kim gave a weak smile. Dangerous as Electronique was, it was the angry mob that had truly shaken her to her core. "I... think I'd just like to be left alone for a while."

"Kim, don't shut us out, please." Ann begged her, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"I don't know what to do, Ron." Kim whispered as Ron pulled her into a hug. "I... thought once I was rescued, it would be over. Now it seems like it's just getting worse."

"You don't have to go through this alone, KP." Ron promised. "We're all here for you." For a few minutes, the two held each other silently, trying to find what little joy they could in their lives.

"You're a good friend, Ron; better than I ever dreamed." Kim complimented, brushing her hand against his cheek, placing her lips on his own. Ron instinctually kissed, his hand pressed against her back. It was gentle and soothing, not passionate, done more out of comfort than desire. After several moments, she let go, the dark cloud in her thoughts lifting slightly. "I'm heading to my room, but you can stay if you want."

"I'm not going anywhere, KP." Ron promised.

XXXXXXXXXX

Well, there you have it. At this point, there's only one chapter left and then I'll be working on the next one in this series.

Next chapter: Shego makes a choice and the figure's full plan is revealed.


	6. Choices

Even though it was just an hour ago, Shego was only barely able to restrain herself from calling again. The fact that Electronique had actually tried to murder Ron frightened her more than she had previously thought possible. It was something she couldn't have imagined even a year ago: fear, not for herself, but for someone else.

_He's fine, he's safe, he survived. _Shego told herself over and over. Try as she might, however, she couldn't get the imagery out of her head. The whole fight was caught live from a news helicopter and nearly every station in the country played it obsessively for the past couple of days. In fact, the first thing he did once it was over was call her and let her know that he was relatively unharmed.

Electronique had been one of the more dangerous enemies that she had faced alongside her brothers. Avairius was usually someone that they were able to deal with relatively quickly; Electronique was another matter entirely. On numerous occasions, she had come within an inch of killing her brothers. "Should have known it was too good to be true." Shego muttered. Villains never seemed to stay locked up for long.

"What are you muttering about, Shego?" Drakken groaned. "Whatever it is, it can wait until I get my hands on this prototype."

He had no idea just how close he had come to being knocked into another coma. Already Shego's hands were igniting, responding to her emotions. It had been years since she had been that close to losing control. Instead, though, she decided to respond in her typical fashion. "Yeah, another asinine take-over-the-world plot." She didn't even care about the details.

"It's more than time to come out of retirement." Drakken proclaimed. "People are no longer fearing the name 'Dr. Drakken' and I intend to make sure I rebuild my previous reputation."

"You mean the reputation as a bumbler who constantly kicks his butt kicked by Kimmy, assuming that they can remember who you are at all." Shego snarked, currently working on the alarm system. It was considerably more sophisticated than what she was accustomed to.

"You know what I mean!" Drakken snapped, while Shego finally disabled the device.

"Come on, we've got to get moving." Shego insisted. "We don't have a lot of time before security gets here." Part of her, though, was questioning why she was doing this.

This is what it meant to be Shego, standing between two paths. She had received a pardon for her efforts in bringing Kim back and the choice she had to make was whether to throw all of that away and return to her old life as a criminal... or whether she would make something more of herself, do something with the second chance she was offered.

Outwardly, she appeared completely calm, focusing solely on the job Drakken wished her to do. It couldn't be further from the truth, however. _Are you really willing to throw everything away, everything I've done for you? _It was like Ron was there alongside her, trying to talk her out of what she knew was wrong. Shego had always known, of course, but until now, it hadn't mattered to her. She had grown _so _sick of her brother's team and Hego's self-righteousness.

"I'm just doing what comes naturally." Shego stated. She had started this whole thing in a form of rebellion against her family, not to mention she discovered that the pay and benefits were much better as a supervillain. It seemed like a hollow reason now, all things considering. _And yet I'm still here. _Shego thought.

Sure enough, security had been called and a dozen men surrounded the two of them, each of them pointing guns. "Hands in the air!" One of them demanded, whom Shego assumed was the leader. She complied, weighing her options. While her body could withstand some bullets, a sustained barrage could still take her down and Drakken wasn't protected in the least. 2 or 3, she'd take her chances; a dozen was a different matter.

They were forced up against the wall, with Drakken reaching into his pocket. His hand was swiftly grabbed and his arm twisted behind his back. "Let go of me; how dare you treat someone like me this way?" Shego wanted more than anything to pummel him half to death, but she knew she wouldn't make it past a few feet should she decide to take such an action.

"What is a man your age doing playing with toys?" One of them laughed, only to start coughing. Gas began seeping out of it, and Drakken hastily covered his nose as mouth as the others began to fall unconscious. Within a minute, all of them were on the floor, unconscious or nearly so.

Shego's respect for Drakken had just gone up considerably. She would never have imagined that he would have brought anything like that along. Evidently, her surprise must have shown, for he said: "Oh, don't look so surprised, Shego! I've learned a few tricks since our last break-in."

"Great, so where is this supposed to be again?" Shego wondered, hoping that she didn't end up lost thanks to his sense of direction, and all the while feeling like she should be hightailing it before she had gotten into more trouble. She hadn't hurt anyone yet and hadn't actually stolen what they were supposed to be after.

"We're about fifty yards away from it; the adrenals that will make my henchmen invincible!" Drakken laughed. "This'll show Dementor who the better mad scientist is!"

"All this for some stupid formula?" Shego groaned, slapping her forehead. "Give me a very good reason why I shouldn't walk out of here right now!" _Please just be your usual self, say something foolish and let me storm out of here. I've hurt him enough as it is. _Try as she might, though, her instincts were slowly taking over.

"Oh, come on, Shego, this is what you were born to me!" Drakken exclaimed. "I've watched you mope around my lair for months and since you won't tell me anything, I decided to try and cheer you up another way. I know you don't go for anything sentimental."

That was actually kind of touching. The fact he was thinking of something other than his own desires was more than a little surprising. "Okay, just let me disable the security system." Shego still had her doubts, but they were slowly disappearing.

There were a few more guards, but she was able to swiftly knock them all unconscious while Drakken used one of his handheld devices to take down the electrical field. Sometimes, Shego wondered why he didn't just try to make millions the honest way by patenting all of his inventions; he'd have had a lot more success. _But I'd be out of a job... and it's his choice. _Shego shrugged, grabbing the beaker, which was much heavier than it appeared, and it was actually proving somewhat difficult to haul it out.

"Hold on!" Drakken exclaimed just as they were about to leave.

"What is it now?" Shego sighed.

"Kim Possible and that sidekick of hers... Don something... should be jumping in about now." Drakken remarked, his eyes wandering the ceiling. "In fact, they should have done it well before now."

"Kimmy doesn't work for Global Justice anymore!" Shego exclaimed. Still, she couldn't help but worry. GJ or not, it wouldn't stop her if she could get here, and in her current state, she had real fear that Kim would actually attempt to kill her. Drakken had asked about that previously, but she blew it off, saying it was just another of their constant battles. _If only he knew..._

"In that case, let's get out of here before anything else shows up!" Drakken ran out, heading to their hovercraft, Shego struggling to follow. Much to her surprise, the rest of the job went by without a hitch.

About ten minutes into the ride, she received a call from her cell phone. Having a bad feeling about this, Shego nevertheless picked it up: "I'm disappointed in you, Shego. I thought you were better than this." Ron declared, and hung up without giving her a chance to reply. Shego spent the rest of the trip feeling like she wanted to cry.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Maybe it's best that I don't return to Global Justice after all, _Kim thought. Living a normal life would be a major adjustment for her after the past few years, but it seemed better than the alternative. However much she might have deserved it, Kim knew she couldn't live with herself if she killed another human being. Apparently she hadn't gotten her dark feelings under control as much as she previously thought.

However, she now realized that pushing Ron and others away was not the answer. If anything, it made her anger worse and her more likely to lash out at someone. She hoped that whatever was messing with her brain would disappear naturally, because while her parents were trying to find an answer, they were still at square one.

"I think I'll stick with Middleton college for now." Kim decided. If she decided to apply elsewhere after a semester or two, she could easily do so. Many universities would take her in with her grades and hundreds of volunteering hours, not to mention her "saving the world" career. Best of all, it would keep her close to her friends, and perhaps her sanity.

Her website had already been shut down. There was no need for it anymore, now that her career was over. Besides, although Wade did his best to filter them, it was becoming a near potpourri of death threats and hopes that she would simply blow her brains out and do the world a favor. Her belief in human decency had taken a severe beating, along with the unpleasant knowledge that Ambrose had been right about them.

Ron walked into the room, looking, if anything, more depressed than she currently was. "Hey, KP!" he greeted, trying to hide it, but Kim knew him far too well for that to have any hope of success. "How you doing?"

"About as well as can be expected, I guess." Kim shrugged. "Still can't believe we were attacked like that in broad daylight."

"Yeah, well, least I got a chance to show off my awesome moves!" Ron made a ridiculous pose that Kim gave a brief chuckle at. He extended his hand, focusing on her laptop and very slowly lifted it up into the air. It was too heavy for him to keep there more than a few seconds, but Kim's mouth was wide open.

"That's... that's amazing, Ron!" Km gasped. "How did you learn that?"

"Many, many hours of progress; nice to know this monkey power is actually good for something." Ron laughed, looking over the application she was filling out. "Hey, we'll be in a couple classes together. You're actually taking cooking?"

"Well, I'm going to have to learn sometime." Kim admitted. She hated not being able to cook; even the Tweebs were able to do so better than she could.

"Hey, I've offered to teach you countless times." Ron smiled. "I'm better suited than any teacher over there to duck and cover when you begin. I've even got my own personal wall to hide behind."

"Very funny, Ron." Kim rolled her eyes, though she was amused at his banter. Strange how something so simple and previously annoying could cheer her up so quickly. "Not all of us are kitchen gods."

"Hey, what can I say; I was born with it, apparently." Ron smirked. He extended his hand again and grabbed the pen out of her hand, levitating it just out of her reach.

"Give that back!" Kim demanded, leaping to grab it, only for Ron to send it flying clear across the other room. However, he was so busy laughing that he lost his concentration and ended up tripping over one of the couch legs, his pants falling to his ankles.

"I have Mystical Monkey Powers and I still can't manage to keep my pants up." Ron groaned, while Kim giggled at him. Still, at least it meant that she was cheering up. He'd humiliate himself a thousand times should it prove necessary. "Wonder what college is going to be like. Hopefully, better than high school."

"It should be; aren't nearly as many bullies there." Kim reassured.

"That doesn't scare me anymore," Ron admitted. After facing Monkey Fist and Ambrose, a few punks didn't seem very frightening. "Let's see what's on."

"I think Agony County is about to start in a few minutes." Kim pointed out, turning the television on. She was just hoping there weren't yet more replays of the fight with Electronique. It seemed like it was all anyone could talk about. "Ron, what's wrong?"

"What are you talking about, KP?" Ron asked, trying to brush it off. \

"Ron, don't try that; I saw how you felt the moment you walked in here." Kim insisted. "Make all the jokes you want. I can see right through them."

"Look, it... it's nothing." Ron sighed. "At least nothing I shouldn't have seen coming."

"What are you talking about?" Kim asked.

"I was watching it on the news last night; there was a break-in and some formula was stolen from a Colorado lab." Ron whispered, holding himself against the couch for fear he would collapse if he did not. "The two identified as responsible... were Drakken and Shego."

"So what?" Kim shrugged. "I knew he'd be back to his old tricks sooner or later, but it's not our problem anymore. Let Team Impossible deal with them." Even as she spoke, however, she had an instinctive urge to hunt down and foil whatever scheme the two of them were working on now. It had become a constant of life for her: facing Drakken and Shego. Yes, she had plenty of other enemies, but those two were the ones she encountered most often.

Her attitude changed quickly when she saw just how devastated Ron was, something that took her by surprise. She knew he and Shego had grown to know each other, but had he really gotten that attached to her? Evidently, the answer was yes, since he pressed his head up against the couch and stared off into space.

"I... thought she was better than that, I really did." Ron moaned. "How could she do this to me?"

"Ron, you can't control what she does; being a villain is who Shego is." Kim tried to reassure, but only made Ron feel worse. She knew there was a piece of the puzzle she was missing, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Look, I'm proud of you for making the effort; none of this is your fault."

"You still don't understand," Ron admitted, debating on whether or not to tell her. There was no telling how she would react to that news. Still, it was likely she would figure it out sooner or later. "Shego and I... more happened than you realize during your absence."

"Wait, what?" Kim's mouth opened. Was he saying what she thought he was? Ron and Shego... together? Her mind couldn't fathom it.

"We kind of ended up... developing feelings for one another." Ron gulped, hoping this wouldn't set her off. "I'd never have imagined it, but as it turned out... me and her have more in common than I would have thought."

Kim simply stood there, too stunned to move. They were opposites in every possible way! How could this have happened? Her first impulse was to hunt down Shego and rip her to shreds. She could do it too; the battle at Camp Wannaweep proved as much. The second impulse was to hit Ron as hard as she could and let him have it for breaking her heart. How could he have betrayed her?!

_Rip him limb from limb; it's no less than he deserves! _Her darker half insisted, or Kim One. _Show him what it means to break your heart!_

_ You broke up with him, remember? _Kim Two reminded her. _He's devastated. Ron needs your support, not your anger. _

_ He was cheating on you before you did! _Kim One screamed. _You deserve better than that! Attack!_

"How... how long has this been going on?" Kim inquired. She would reserve her action, at least give him the chance to explain himself before she did anything drastic.

"An actual relationship... only about a week or so." Ron explained. He felt lower than pond scum, even though she had broken up with him beforehand. "We have been friends for months... and each aware of the other's attraction. It was when you showed up last week that we finally decided to give our relationship a try."

"What are you going to do now?" Kim asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. She hoped he would break up with her, never speak to her again. _I'll rip her heart out for what she's done! _Kim promised. She was still angry with Ron, of course, but now it was primarily because he hadn't told her about this sooner.

"I haven't decided yet." Ron admitted. "I'd still like to reform her, however foolish that might sound as this point. This is something I'll have to put some thought into."

Honestly, Kim thought that actually reforming Shego was about as likely as Ron becoming a billionaire, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. "Well, whatever you decide, I'll support you." She sat down on the couch next to him as he rested his head on her shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gil swore that he would make him pay for this. He had just barely survived his attempt to break into Global Justice's headquarters for what this guy wanted, some stupid statue. Now he could do nothing but listen to his brother's screams.

He wanted nothing more than to rip this man apart, limb from limb. His brother's scream nearly deafened him as lightning poured through his body, limbs convulsing. Mike was dying, he could feel it. Only the knowledge that his brother would be instantly killed and that even in his creature form, his attack would be futile, stayed his hand. Even then, it was a close call.

Electronique walked into the room, looking nervous, although she did her best to hide it. "So did you accomplish your task?" The man asked.

She gulped and stammered, but eventually said: "No... Possible managed to beat me. She's stronger than I ever imagined." She backed up a few steps, hoping that he wouldn't decide to take his anger out on her.

"I give you one simple, effortless task and you fail me." The man hissed, lifting her up into the air and choking her. "Seems easy, doesn't it: ambush them, kill the Outsider, and bring Possible to me. Give me one reason why I should let you live."

"Please... please... I can try again..." Electronique gasped, begging for mercy. She was a proud woman, not easily cowed, but he was a darkness beyond anyone she had ever met in her life.

"Actually, I can come up with a reason: you did succeed, at least to a point." he said, dropping her. "My contact has already informed me that our operation is proceeding as planned. With my former master dead, there's nothing to protect Miss Possible anymore."

"Why don't you send the boy?" Electronique demanded, Gil furious that she would consider his life to be worth so little.

"Oh, I will... at the proper time." The man smiled. "While I was hoping this would be a simple task, the fact you failed does not matter much in the long run and the fact that you sent the information through the proper channels mitigates your failure."

"So what next, Fukushima?" Electronique snarled. She had no intention of staying with him and would break free at the first opportunity. She had thought she would be a partner, an assistant at worse, when he told her his plan, but soon found out that she was little more than a slave to him.

"My master was weak, but he did have some valuable lessons." Fukushima laughed. "Possible is even more unbalanced than I previously suspected, meaning that this will be quite simple. For now, I'll let her think she's safe." He still had a power base to build and his ally would need time to complete his part of the plan.

_Why couldn't he have left me out of this? _Gil moaned to himself. He had just gotten back to living a normal life, and had no desire to try and fight Ron again. Fukushima evidently had other plans and until he found a way to free his brother, he had little choice but to do what he said. He would never stop looking for an escape route, however.

Fukushima laughed to himself. Weak and pathetic, every one of them. Ever since Ambrose had made his offer, he had felt stronger than he ever imagined possible. Team Possible, however, would be a significant obstacle and he saw no need to expose himself to them just yet. It infuriated him that his master had considered that girl to be so important, had almost worshipped her. He would enjoy breaking her and proving how weak she truly was.

"Now, Gil, I have a new job for you..." Fukushima declared.

XXXXXXXXXX

Okay, that's the end for now. Hope this wrapped up a few plotholes in the process. Don't forget to keep an eye out for the sequel: "Keep your friends close".


End file.
